![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/pumpkin-15.84194a4f.jpg)
November 2023 Northtowne News
School News, District News, and Community Items
PBIS Mission Statement
I am prepared and ready to learn.
I will be respectful, responsible and focused.
I will make choices that focus on teaching and learning.
My hands are for helping, NOT hurting.
And my words are for encouraging.
I will be the best ‘me’ I can be.
November Important Dates
November 1 - Flu and COVID booster shot clinic at school for students with returned forms
November 6 - Only Pre-K No School
November 7 - No School; it is Election Day, please vote if you are registered
November 9 - First Evening Caregiver Teacher Conferences
November 11 - Grades 3-5 Community Service Leaf Clean Up 9:00 am-12:00 noon
November 14 - Second Evening Caregiver Teacher Conferences
November 15 - Picture Day Retakes: Click Here for Ordering Information
November 16 - Band and Choir Music Performance starts at 2:00 pm. Doors open at 1:50 pm for the audience.
November 20-24 - No School; Wellness Week
Stay up to date! The calendar for the 2023-24 school year can be found here.
Student Absences
Did you know that you can send an email to let us know your student will be absent from school? You can! You can also take a photo of the appointment excuse note and attach it to an email. No more wondering if your student remembered to turn in the paper. Contact us with all things concerning attendance here: attendance.northtowne@columbus.k12.oh.us
Principal's Corner
Hello Families, Caregivers, and Students,
Temperatures seemed to have definitely turned cold in time for the start of November. This means that it is time to give our annual reminder to send students to school dressed for the cold weather with coats, hats, and gloves. We do continue to have outdoor recess throughout the cold months. If you need assistance obtaining the necessary outerwear please contact your student's classroom teacher or the Family Ambassador. They will link you to school based or community based assistance as appropriate. In the event that you need to access our growing pile of lost and found items please contact our Family Ambassador. Her contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter.
We are now about one week into the second quarter of the school year. I hope that many of our families will be able to come out for one of the evenings this month that we hold Caregiver Teacher Conferences. First quarter grades have been finalized and are always able to be accessed through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. If you are having difficulty logging into your Parent Portal account or have not located your student's grades in the Parent Portal, please reach out to our Family Ambassador for assistance. Ms Bowman's contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter.
We hope that our families of 3rd through 5th grade students will join us on Saturday, November 11 for a community service project. We will be offering to rake the leaves in yards of the neighbors around the school. We are excited about encouraging our youth to think about the ways they can already be giving back to their community. For this activity we are asking for a head count of those who will attend. Full details are below in this newsletter.
November will feel like a short month at school due the full week of vacation we have for Wellness Week and the Thanksgiving holiday. We are encouraging our students to make the most of our time together and the academic opportunities in front of them.
I hope you enjoy this season of gratefulness,
Mr. Taylor
Morning Drop Off Reminders
Please stay with your child prior to 8:30 a.m. and/or when there is no adult supervision. For the safety of your child, please wait until a staff member is outside. Children should not be dropped off before 8:30.
If you drive your student to school, please enter the parking lot area and drive beside the sidewalk. Pull forward, as much as possible, until just past the open cafeteria doors.
Breakfast is served starting at 8:30 and is free for any child who chooses to eat.
Neighborhood Leaf Clean Up
Saturday, Nov 11, 2023, 09:00 AM
Northtowne Elementary School and Neighborhood
Counselor's Corner
Northtowne Elementary is continuing guidance lessons for all grade levels with Mr. Dickerson. Our youngest grades are still working on self-awareness through emotional intelligence. Students in Pre-K and Kindergarten are investigating how to identify emotions, and why emotions are important. During guidance lessons, students explored what feelings looked like, how they sound, how they feel, and when they happen. These guidance lessons aim to help students navigate the world by being able to understand and respond appropriately to emotions.
Most other grade levels are working on self-management skills. Our 1st through 4th grade students continued their unit on emotional regulation. They are still learning about the zones of regulation. During these guidance lessons, students learn about and practice using calming/regulating strategies to move from the yellow zone (too fast) into the green zone (just right). Our Zones of Regulation unit is designed to help students work through complex feelings by using effective calming/regulating strategies.
Our 5th grade students have moved onto their unit on Career Exploration. Students in our 5th grade classes will be exploring the many aspects of careers through research. They are learning about career options, making a career pathway, and how people get into their careers. These guidance lessons serve as an introduction to the world of careers.
Welcome to Our New Physical Therapist!
Northtowne extends a warm welcome to Ashley Callicott PT, DPT. She will be working with our school aged (kindergarten through 5th grade) students who need supports to be able to access their school environment and curriculum. We are so glad to have you as a part of our school community! Ms Nancy will continue to be our physical therapist working with our pre-k students.
Food Composting Comes to Northtowne
Northtowne Elementary was approached by Mr. Kevin, a neighborhood urban farmer with a plan for composting the school's table scraps. First, Mr. Kevin will come to school for student assemblies that teach what items are compostable and what items still go in the trash can. Then we will be participating in a one-week trial of separating food scraps for the compost bin from other trash at breakfast and lunch. If the trial goes well Mr. Kevin will continue taking our compostable food items to turn into nutrient rich soil for his urban farm.
With your student, watch the video below for a 5 minute explanation about compost with Peppa Pig!
What is compost?
Compost is an essential tool a farmer or gardener’s toolkit. Made from organic wastes like kitchen scraps, paper, and yard clippings, compost is an effective way to recycle while creating a valuable byproduct that feeds plants for healthy growth.
Some items that are compostable:
- Most food waste
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Vegetables and fruits
- Breads and crackers
- Egg shells
- Soiled napkins and paper plates
- Newspaper
- Leaves and straw
- Wood chips
- Yard debris
Fluency Flight
The iReady math program has a new feature this year called Fluency Flight and we want to encourage students to use this new feature. Northtowne will be holding a Fluency Flight Challenge. For the month of November, students would use fluency flight on assigned days at school. They will work towards increasing their addition fluency for this month.
As part of the challenge, we will print off the fluency report from iReady on November 1 and then again on November 30th. Any student who has increased their addition fluency by 10% is eligible for a school-wide incentive. For example, a student who has mastered 25% of the addition on November 1 would need to increase their mastery to 35% by November 30 in order to be eligible for the incentive.
Caregivers can support their students in reaching this goal at home! Simply having your student work on the iReady math lessons in their pathway will help. Students access the iReady application through their Clever accounts. Students should be knowledgeable about how to do this. However, if caregivers need instructions you can contact the classroom teacher or our family ambassador (Sarah Bowman) for technical assistance.
The page linked below brings you to a video describing more about the Fluency Flight feature.
Huntington Heroes
Huntington Bank has renewed its partnership with Northtowne Elementary for this school year. Huntington Bank wants to be involved in the Columbus community and the company is encouraging employees to engage in volunteering. At Northtowne this means that our "Huntington Heroes" are working with students to give them extra opportunities to advance reading and math skills by being reading and math buddies. We are so pleased to have our "Huntington Heroes" back in the building to volunteer time with our students need help to get on track for meeting their iReady reading and math goals!
House Challenges
This year teachers with their classrooms have divided into one of three groups that we are calling "Houses." Throughout the school year these Houses will have friendly competitions with each other. For the month of September we held an attendance challenge. Any House that had a average school attendance average of at least 80% earned a dance party! We are so proud of our students and thankful for the support of their families because all three houses earned the dance party!! We had average attendance rates of 86.94%, 87.11%, and 87.40% from out three houses.
Our challenge for November is focused on reading. The House with the highest rate of completion for the iReady Reading lesson expectation will earn an incentive. Students in kindergarten are expected to complete one iReady Reading lesson each week. Students in grades 1-5 are expected to complete 2 iReady Reading lessons each week. Students in Ms Cole's pre-k will help their house by completing their Waterford Reading goals.
School Levy Information
Cooking with Dad
What: Cooking with Dads interactive cooking demonstration
When: Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 11:00 am
Where: The Kee, 225 Neilston St, Columbus OH 43215
The mission of Cooking With Dads is to promote health and wellness amongst children and to improve the relationships between fathers and children, Cooking With Dads serves men and children ages 3 and up bringing together hundreds of influential and community dads all over the city for an educational and fun experience. Dads and their children are able to participate in interactive healthy cooking demonstrations with local and national celebrity chefs, receive a swag bag filled with goodies, and participate in wellness exercises.
Salvation Army Holiday Support
Applications for Christmas TOYS for children 14 years of age and under and a hearty Christmas FOOD BOX will be taken:
10/30: 10am - 1pm
11/1: 10am - 1pm
11/2: 10am - 1pm
11/13: 10am - 1pm, 5pm – 7pm
11/15: 10am - 1pm, 5pm - 7pm
11/16: 10am - 1pm
11/18: 10am - 4pm
11/27: 10am - 1pm, 5pm - 7pm
11/29: 10am - 1pm, 5pm - 7pm
11/30: 10am - 1pm
No Appointment Necessary
Locations:
- The Salvation Army Citadel Worship and Service Center 3662 Karl Road, Columbus, OH 43224 614-262-8450 ext. 205
- The Salvation Army Hilltop Worship and Service Center 2300 West Mound Street, Columbus, OH 43204 614-274-7600 ext. 201
- The Salvation Army/Stowe Mission Center 888 Parsons Avenue, Columbus, OH 43206 614-449-8066 The Salvation Army East Main Worship and Service Center 966 East Main Street, Columbus, OH 43205 614-437-2153
- The Salvation Army Chapel at Worthington Woods 760 Worthington Woods Blvd., Columbus, OH 43081 614-846-1884 ext. 10
Required Documents to Bring:
- Picture Identification for Head of Household (Ex: Driver license; State ID card; Employee ID card; Human Services ID card)
- Proof of Dependents with Birth Dates for all Household Members (Ex: Birth certificates; Current health card with date of birth; Shot record; Job and Family Services printout)
- NO SOCIAL SECRITY CARDS OR NUMBERS
For more information call: (614) 221-6561 x600
*Parents/Guardians will select toys and pick up a food box the week before Christmas. The time and location will be shared at Registration.
Northtowne News Past Issues are Still Available
Did you delete a Northtowne News email and then realize there was a resource you still wanted to check out? Do you remember seeing a newsletter announcement about a community resource but now you can't remember the name of the organization and you can't find the email from the newsletter? Don't worry! The information you need is not lost! All prior Newsletters and mid-month updates are available on the Northtowne Elementary web site. The button below will take you directly to the newsletter archive.
Grateful for Family Involvement
Thank you so much for your support and involvement with your child’s learning. Whether it’s conferences, attending the family meetings, or a quick chat throughout the day, we appreciate your involvement and efforts to build the lines of communication between home and school.
Lots of school communication and information is in the Parent Portal. If you need help accessing the Parent Portal please contact our Family Ambassador, Sarah Bowman. She can even link families to interpreters (Bilingual Engagement Liaisons or BEL) to help with understanding the Parent Portal set up process. Email: sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us or you can call or text: 614-859-9654Thank you for reading this month’s newsletter.
Send a note to let us know what you thought, make suggestions or ask a question. We would love to hear from you. Please send a note to your child’s teacher or send a message.
Contributors:
Austin Taylor, Principal
Phone: 614-365-5488
Fax: 614-365-5487
Email: ataylor4@columbus.k12.oh.us
Sarah Bowman, Family Ambassador
614-859-9654
Email: sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us
Susan Bryant, Building Coach
614-365-5488
Email: sbryant9569@columbus.k12.oh.us
Frank Beickelman, Grant Provider
614-365-5488